


A Different Kind of Demon

by JMProfio



Category: Gravity Falls, Pendragon - D. J. MacHale
Genre: Gen, definitely the strangest crossover idea I've gotten
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-06-04 02:41:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6638095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JMProfio/pseuds/JMProfio
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bobby wakes up in a car and discovers that Dane's driven him all the way across the country, to a small town in Oregon. Dane claims that there's something in the town that could not only threaten Second Earth, but all of Halla, and it's been focused around the town of Gravity Falls. Enlisting the help of Dipper and Mabel Pines, they have to find a way to stop Bill Cipher for good.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing a Gravity Falls story, so those parts might not be as good or as in character as the Pendragon bits. Just further proof that I can bring everything back to Pendragon eventually.

Bobby woke up to a sunrise, shining through a row of thick pine trees directly into his eyes. The light burned, and he squinted against the growing headache in his skull. Lifting his head from where it had slumped against the car door, he stared in bleary confusion at the pavement speeding by outside. Then, still bleary, he turned his attention to the driver.

Dane was staring straight ahead, glaring intensely. His black hair fell messily over his eyes, but he was ignoring it, driving with a purpose. And he was dressed... differently. _Normally,_ Bobby thought. He was dressed _normally._ The ex-demon was in a t-shirt and jeans, with a hoodie thrown on like an afterthought. Bobby cleared his throat, and Dane glanced over for a moment before directing his gaze back to the road.

"You're awake," he said. "I was hoping we'd be in town before it wore off."

"Why am I in your car?" Bobby mumbled, still fighting to clear his head. "Where _are_ we? What... what are you wearing?"

"I needed to blend in," Dane responded. "I don't want him to see me coming."

" _Who?_ What's going on?"

"I'll explain when we get there. Right now-"

"What a minute." Something was nagging at Bobby's brain, and he was having trouble making sense of his surroundings. He closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then said, as calmly as he could manage, "Did you _drug_ me?"

"Maybe," Dane answered quickly. "Yes. It was necessary."

"I swear if you weren't driving right now I would punch you."

He sighed, obviously irritated. "If I had _asked_ you, you would have wanted to know why. And I didn't have time to explain. And I _still_ don't have time to explain, because if you hadn't noticed I'm trying to run a bus off the road."

" _What!?"_

"I know what you're thinking, but I can't let this bus leave Oregon."

" _Oregon?_ Jesus, Dane, how long was I asleep?"

The ex-demon hesitated, obviously not wanting to answer, and instead focused on the road as he responded. "About two days. But-"

" _Two days!?_ "

"But that isn't important right now-"

" _It isn't important!?_ "

"No, because I need you to-"

"You kept me knocked out for _two days_ and it's _not important-_ "

"Damnit, Bobby, shut the hell up and _duck_!"

The car swerved sharply to the side and Dane slammed on the brakes, and Bobby looked up to see the demon had pulled immediately in front of the bus; he immediately did as he was told and ducked, covering his head with his hands and continuing to shout as he heard the sharp screech of the larger vehicle trying to come to a halt.

" _What the hell Dane you're going to get us killed!_ "

The next moment was filled with an ominous silence. Bobby stayed crouched for a moment, tensed and waiting for the impact that didn't come. After a moment he heard the sound of a car door opening, and when he looked up he saw Dane had exited the car and was walking quickly toward the bus, which had managed to avoid the car and had instead careened head-on into a tree. Bobby couldn't see much from the car, but from what he could tell no one was hurt; the bus driver was standing on the grass, yelling at Dane, and there were two kids standing at the door of the bus, watching with obvious confusion.

With an irritated sigh, he opened his door and quickly ran off to follow him. Who knew what he was planning...

Dane completely ignored the yelling driver, focusing intently on the kids. They seemed worried, but at the same time they weren't backing down; Bobby had to admit, he was impressed. At their age—twelve or thirteen, and twins, by the look of it—he would have been scared senseless. Instead, they stared down Dane with a set determination; the girl was pointing a grappling hook at his chest. And she looked more than willing to shoot him with it, at point-blank range.

Bobby caught up with him, and immediately punched him in the shoulder. "What the _hell,_ Dane?"

The ex-demon looked at him, a good deal calmer than he had been in the car. "Good, you're in one piece. Now sit down and shut up." Then, not waiting for a response, he turned his attention to the twins. "Now then, you two. Get in the car—you're going back to town."

"Who are you?" the boy demanded. "What do you want?"

"Just get in the damn car. There's no time."

"Dane," Bobby muttered, trying his hardest not to punch the tall man a second time. " _Why_ are you trying to kidnap children?"

"I'm not," Dane responded, an eerie calm over his face. "Believe it or not, I'm trying to save Second Earth. From something a great deal worse than me."


	2. Chapter 2

The two men had been arguing for roughly five minutes now, and showed no sign of stopping any time soon. Dipper and Mabel watched silently, more confused by the strange turn of events than frightened. The strangers weren't the usual type of threat they were used to dealing with—compared to Bill, these two seemed almost normal, and the bus seemed in a better state than the _last_ time they'd tried to leave town. But something was definitely going on, and from what they could hear of the argument, it was something in Gravity Falls. Most of the argument, however, was completely Greek to them.

"The last time something threatened Second Earth, it was _you_ -"

"Well, it's not this time, and if _he_ keeps-"

" _Who_ , Dane? Who's so dangerous that you had to drug me-"

"-could possibly destroy all of _Halla_ if we let him-"

"-drove me across the entire _country_ then _ran down a bus_ -"

"I needed a Traveller, and _unfortunately_ you're the only one on this territory-"

"-and now you're _kidnapping children?_ "

"They're the only ones that can stop Bill!"

The twins looked at each other as they heard the name, a worried look passing over their faces. If they were talking about the same _Bill_ , that was a problem they had no desire to face again any time soon.

"Hey!" Dipper shouted, waving a hand to try to get the strangers' attention. "Are you guys talking about Bill _Cipher_?"

The two stopped arguing. The smaller of the two simply shot a look of irritated confusion at his partner, and the taller man's face grew grim. "Yes," he responded. "Though when I knew him he was simply going by 'Bill'. The 'Cipher' seems a rather pretentious addition, if you ask me."

The other man smirked slightly. "You're one to talk, Saint."

"Shut up."

Mabel lowered her grappling hook slightly, still holding it as if she were prepared to shoot at any moment. "But we beat Bill. For real this time."

"Yeah," Dipper agreed. "We-"

"Trapped him in someone's mind and erased it?" The taller man interrupted.

"Yeah."

Without another word, he turned and began walking back to his car. "He'll be back by now; we need to get to town, fast."

The other man cast the twins an apologetic look. "Sorry about him, he's... complicated."

This man seemed different from his companion. He was around the same age, by the look of it, but he carried himself in a more relaxed manner, even when he was obviously stressed, and he was watching his partner retrieve the car from the center of the road with the expression of a tired babysitter. He seemed much more... _human_.

"Do you really think Bill's back again?" Mabel asked.

He shook his head. "Kid, I don't even know who that _is_. All I know is the last time I saw Dane this invested in something, planets were nearly destroyed."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much exposition. I feel like I needed to have at least a chapter in there of explaining the basic backstories of the different fandoms to the other, but... ugh, exposition. It was really hard to make this chapter not drag. Promise this will be the only chapter of just people sitting around talking.

Dane was driving well over the speed limit, swerving around any other cars and ignoring any sort of traffic light or sign. Bobby gripped his seatbelt with both hands, verifying that it was securely buckled as he pressed himself as far into his seat as he could. In the backseat, the twins seemed much calmer about the erratic driving, conversing calmly with Dane as if it were nothing at all.

"When did he get to Gravity Falls?" Dane asked quickly. "Tell me everything he's done."

"We don't really know _when_ he got here," Dipper explained. "I want to say a couple decades?"

"Yeah," Mabel agreed. "He tricked our Grunkle Ford into making this big portal thing, then I think he went away for a while? Then Gideon summoned him back and he's been bothering us all summer."

"He tried to invade our Grunkle Stan's mind-"

"-Then he used Dipper as a human sock puppet-"

"-Then he took over Gravity Falls and trapped Mabel in a dream bubble-"

"-And everything got really weird-"

"-Then he went inside Grunkle Stan's mind and we erased it and got rid of Bill-"

"-But Grunkle Stan's mind got erased too, but he got better because of Waddles!"

Mabel lifted up the pig that she'd dragged into the car with her, and it squealed and flailed its arms. Bobby stared blankly at the two children, who were talking about all of this weird stuff without so much as a single indication that it was strange. Waddles squealed again and licked his arm; he pulled back slightly, patting it on the head.

"That made no sense to me," the ex-traveler said, looking between the twins and Dane for any sort of explanation. "This guy can get into people's heads? How can he-"

"He's from Solara," Dane interrupted. "I'm sure Press explained to you what we could do?"

"Solara?" Bobby racked his memory, trying to remember what his Uncle Press had told him about the beings of Solara. "It's still kind of fuzzy, but... he said beings of Solara were like guardian angels? And they could visit people in their dreams?"

"Like the Mindscape?" Dipper asked.

"The Mind-what?" Bobby repeated.

"Exactly," Dane replied. "Beings of Solara can access the Mindscape, and converse with people through their dreams. It's also possible to gain full access to someone's mind, but they have to give their consent first—a contract, a handshake, something like that. Press never approved of actively altering things, but I found it useful when building Ravinia."

"What's Ravinia?" Mabel asked.

"Yeah, it sounds like a cheap metal band," Dipper added.

Dane brought the car around a corner a little sharper than was really necessary, and Bobby clutched his seatbelt even tighter.

"Probably best to talk about that later," Bobby responded. "Maybe when Dane _isn't_ driving. I don't know about you guys, but I'd like to live. Let's just say it was pretty big, and Dane was pretty proud of it."

"Until you destroyed it," the ex-demon muttered under his breath.

"You were taking over the universe!" Bobby snapped. "I didn't exactly have time to admire the architecture!"

"Of course, you were too busy letting me die."

"You know we didn't have a choice-"

"Of _course_ not! It's the _way it was meant to be_ , right?"

"Look, I never thought that-"

"You never _think_ about anything-"

"Says the guy that insulted his _one follower_ -"

In the back seat, the twins looked at each other in confusion, listening to the grown men argue back and forth like children. Eventually Mabel stuck Waddles in between them with a shout of, "Okay~, maybe we should all just calm down? Does Waddles need to separate you two?"

Dane glared momentarily at the pig, then turned his attention back to the road without a word. Bobby patted Waddles on the head, sighing slightly as he calmed down.

"Sorry about that," he said, looking over his shoulder at the back seat. "Things have been a little tense."

"I'll say," Mabel added with a laugh.

"So what's the story with you guys?" Dipper asked. "You said Bill was from somewhere called Solar, or Sunset, or-"

"Solara," Bobby responded. "It's kind of like this realm of beings that are supposed to help people with their live choices and help them make the right decisions. Dane used to be part of it, but he didn't agree with their plans, and tried to split off and do things his own way. He nearly took over the whole universe, making everyone part of this cult he called Ravinia."

Dane glared at him. "It wasn't a cult."

"What do you call a group of people in identical outfits following a single person blindly in his quest to make everyone think the same?"

"Sounds like a cult to me," Dipper said.

"Fine," the ex-demon replied. "It was a cult. And it very nearly succeeded."

"Yeah," Bobby said, "'Til I kicked your ass and destroyed your version of Solara. That reminds me," he turned back toward the twins. "Did Bill have some sort of world he could go to besides the Mindscape? Like Dane's was all big rocks and evil versions of famous landmarks."

"Like the Weirdmageddon place?" Mabel asked. "He made this big portal in the sky and brought all these weird things through."

"That sounds like Bill," Dane muttered. "He always had a flair for the dramatic."

"You're one to talk," Bobby retorted.

Dane shook his head. "At least mine made sense. My version of Solara was based off of negative energy—hate, envy, greed—and so it looked like a negative version of Solara. Bill always had a fascination with chaos—it's what he's using for power. Pure chaos, chance, and improbability. It's not a place I'd like to visit again."

"Again?" Bobby repeated. "You've _been_ there?"

"Yes. And it's not a place anyone should go if you want to keep your sanity. It's also not a place that can be destroyed; Bill has a much bigger following than I did, and he treats them more as equals than minions."

"So what do we do?"

"There's another way to kill a being of Solara; I heard Press talking about it once. We need something that can gather a large amount of opposing energy against him, enough to overpower the strength of his Solara and destroy him. I have no idea what it would be, though."

"You mean like a circle?" Mabel asked. "Grunkle Ford had this circle thing he was trying to use to beat Bill."

"Yeah," Dipper chimed in. "We all had to stand on these symbols and hold hands to get it to work, but Bill found us before we could."

Dane was silent, his expression thoughtful.

"Well?" Bobby asked. "Do you think it could work?"

The ex-demon shook his head. "I'd have to see the circle."

"It was in the journals," Dipper said. "But Bill burned all of those during Weirdmageddon."

"Grunkle Ford knows it," Mabel added. "But him and Grunkle Stan are about to go on some adventure or something."

"Then we should hurry," Dane answered.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been kinda preoccupied with other stuff lately, school stuff and family drama and long-awaited updates and the like, but here's another chapter! Also I'm getting into the territory of "characters I'm less sure how to write" so this could get interesting in the next few chapters. I've got the last chapter (way down the line from where this is now) all planned out, and I know what I want to happen to get to that point but I've been having trouble thinking of how to write it, so it's been slow going. Also I should probably mention that this isn't in the same continuity as my other Pendragon stories, which I keep finding ways to link together. In this continuity Dane reappeared in book-10 form without his powers, and he and Bobby have this awkward tense truce/friendship. I think I originally planned it in the same continuity, but this works better for some stuff I have planned for later.

Dane didn't look happy.

This wasn't exactly something new, considering the way he'd been acting, but once Bobby had exited the car and the group had started approaching the large building labeled as "The Mystery Shack", Dane had begun to look even more disgruntled. The demon was still standing by the car, staring intently at the two figures by the entrance as they greeted Dipper and Mabel with a happy confusion. Bobby couldn't see why he was so upset—they looked like normal old guys, probably brothers, and they seemed like pretty nice guys. The twins were busily explaining what was happening, gesturing back at the car. The older men looked over at Bobby and Dane, and immediately one of them frowned.

Without a word, the man who had frowned walked over to where Dane was standing by the car. The demon stared him down, speaking calmly and evenly as he mumbled, "Stanford."

'Stanford' responded by punching Dane squarely in the jaw, hard enough to send him sprawling. Bobby moved quickly in between them with a quick shout of "Whoa!" as Dipper and Mabel ran over with worried expressions and the other man remained on the porch, laughing raucously.

Dane rose back to his feet, his hand rubbing what was sure to be a bruise within the hour. "I'll admit, I deserved that."

"Do you ever not?" Bobby asked humorlessly. "What did you do _this_ time?" The demon didn't answer, instead locked in a glaring contest with Stanford. Bobby sighed, burying his face in his hands for a moment before taking a deep breath. A fist to the face seemed to the be universal way to greet Dane—when he'd reappeared, Courtney had responded the same way. Then it was usually up to Bobby to defuse the situation, which most times was easier said than done. "Okay, I know Dane doesn't always leave the best impressions on people. In fact, he usually leaves the worst possible impression." Dane's glare redirected to Bobby, but he remained silent. "But whatever he did before, he couldn't do it again if he tried. And if he did try I wouldn't let him. Right now we need to focus on something a lot more important than any of this, because I already stopped an apocalypse once and I don't really want to have to do all that again because I'd just gotten used to being normal again for a little."

Stanford regarded Bobby with suspicion. "I don't know who you are, but if you have anything to do with _him_ , it would be in your best interest to leave."

"Grunkle Ford!" Mabel interjected. "They're trying to help!"

"Kids," Ford responded. "You don't understand how he works. This man is part of a group that prides themselves on promoting their own ideals. They don't interfere. They don't help."

Dane started to laugh bitterly, and Ford shot him another glare. Bobby looked at him questioningly, then realization dawned on him.

" _Wait_ ," the traveler said slowly. "You don't think that _Dane_ interferes. You said he's part of a group..." He turned to face Dane, a light disbelieving smile on his face. "People hated you _before_ you left Solara?!"

"He _left_ Solara?!" Ford exclaimed, equally thrown.

The demon smirked humorlessly. "Don't look so surprised. I wasn't the first."

"Of course not," he responded. "If you're here looking for Bill, you're too late."

"Actually," Dipper said. "They said there's a chance he's still here. Something about his power source being in one piece?"

Bobby nodded in agreement. "Yeah, if his power source is still there, chances are he's not gone yet. It took years to wear down Dane's."

"And I'm not dead yet," Dane muttered. He turned his attention to Ford, serious determination on his features. "You have no reason to trust me, Stanford. I understand that. Rest assured, if I had gone back after I left Solara, I would have asked you to join me. But my plans didn't work out so well. If I could stop Bill on my own, I would have, but when I lost my power I lost any chance of being able to do that. So I'm asking you to help. Not for my sake, but for the sake of this town. For your grandchildren and their friends. For all of Halla."

Ford was silent for a moment, regarding the ex-demon in front of him. Eventually he responded, "You've lost your powers, too?"

Bobby nodded. "Yeah, I fought him for four years, but he's pretty much harmless now. If a bit melodramatic. By the way," he held out his hand and smiled politely. "I'm Bobby, by the way. Nice to meet you."

The older man shook his hand, eyeing the two suspiciously. Then he turned, and began to walk back toward the Mystery Shack. "We should talk about this inside. I don't know if I should trust either of you, but it would be safer in there than out here."

The twins and Bobby followed him, and Dane tagged along at a slower pace. He stopped in front of the porch, scrutinizing the wood panelings closely with a slight smile on his face. Bobby stopped in the doorway and turned, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"You okay?" the traveler asked. "You look like you just thought of the punchline to a joke."

Dane gestured to a thin, colorful line around the edge of the porch, still smiling in amusement. "It's a protective circle, effective against beings like Bill. Honestly I'm impressed." He looked up with a grin, adding, "Stanford, how in _Halla_ did you get unicorn hair?"

From inside, Mabel exclaimed, "I punched it in the face!"

The demon's expression turned to complete and utter surprise. Then he very calmly sat down on the front step, and began to laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just gonna end this chapter here. I've been having some super bad writer's block lately, but I swear it'll get better soon! I'm gonna start working on the next chapter as soon as I upload this (or maybe I'll work on one of my many oneshot ideas I've been planning. There's too many irons in the fire for me to be weaving a tangled web like this. It's a tangled web of flaming irons and mixed metaphors, and I've also been catching up on webcomics so that's time consuming. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man so much dialogue. Also sorry for not updating for half a year. You would not believe the writer's block I had. Just nothing every time I opened this story. But things are really happening now. Nearly. Almost.

The hidden study was coated in a thin layer of dust, curtains bolted over what appeared to be large murals on the walls. On the far table, Ford had laid out several notes and sketches, most prominently a large circle lined with designs, with a rough triangle sketched in the center. Dane leaned over it, mumbling to himself and running his hands over the designs. “Strength. Will. Clarity...”

Bobby glanced over his shoulder at the blueprint, then back up at his companion. “So...” he said. “Wanna clue me in as to what this is?”

“It's a banishing circle,” Ford explained. “Basically, it gathers a number of opposing strengths together, and uses that power to deflect its opposition. In this case, Bill.”

Dane nodded in agreement. “These can take many different forms. Circles, or in some cases, a talisman worn by everyone involved.”

Lifting his hand to the light, Bobby ran a finger over the thin gray ring he'd worn for the past seven years. “Talismans like rings?”

The demon nodded. “The process isn't pleasant for the target, _trust_ me, but it isn't lethal, either. Not completely. I'm proof of that.”

“I thought that might have been the case,” Ford said with a frown. “At the very least, I hoped it would diminish Bill's power enough that he would be forced out of this dimension.”

Dane scoffed in light amusement. “That's always the problem with us demons. We have a spectacular talent for saving our own skin. For me, it was as simple as taking on some inanimate form until some unfortunate soul made contact with it and gave me enough power to return. In his weakened state, Bill might have done the same.”

“So he could be anything in the universe?” Bobby asked. “How are we supposed to find him?”

“Not anything,” the demon responded. “Believe it or not, Bill is far more vain than I am. Shapeshifting was his least favorite ability; he'll be in some form similar to his usual appearance.” He tapped the triangle in the center of the diagram, and the former Traveler noticed the faded eye drawn on its surface.

“And as for where,” Ford chimed in, “I think its safe to assume his movement was limited to the town. Wierdmageddon couldn't pass over the border.”

“So that, at least, is settled.” Dane had returned his attention to the diagram, deep in thought. He tapped the drawing with his finger, and mumbled, “Now we only need a way to strengthen this. At this rate, it would need to be at least _doubled_ \--” His blue eyes widened, and a grin spread across his face as he reached for a pencil and began frantically sketching around the borders of the circle, mumbling as he drew. “Why didn't I think of it _sooner_?”

Ford frowned, obviously not happy with the vandalism of his blueprint. “Are you... _adding_ symbols? True, more people would increase the strength, but it was hard enough finding suitable candidates for these! Where are we going to _find_ these people?”

Leaning over the demon's shoulder, Bobby furrowed his brow at the new symbols. Something seemed strangely... _familiar_ about them: A long, coiling squiggle. A circle with jagged spikes on one side. A swarm of some sort. What looked like a plain stick figure. A dog, then two dogs, then _three_. A slightly warped triangle. Another circle, with eight lines protruding from it. Staring at all of the images, he began to see them for what they were: Quigs. Dane was drawing the _quigs_.

Zadaa's snakes. Denduron's bears. Veelox's bees. Eelong's gars. First, Second, and Third Earth's dogs. Cloral's sharks. Quillan's spiders.

“The Travelers,” Bobby murmured under his breath. “You want to use the Travelers.”

Ford stared at the symbols curiously. “What on Earth is a Traveler?”

The former Lead Traveler grinned. “Not Earth. All of Halla. One for every territory Dane tried to conquer. My _friends_.” His joy was palpable. He hadn't seen _any_ of the Travelers since the war had ended and the territories had been separated, and the thought of being able to simply see all of his friends again was amazing.

Dane frowned slightly. “There is one _slight_ problem. The flumes aren't exactly in working order, and neither of us currently possess the full powers of Solara.”

The grin fell from Bobby's face. “Right. How do we _get_ to everyone?”

The three men furrowed their brows, at a loss for how to gather the necessary players for their plan. Without some way to not only traverse space, but time itself, it seemed impossible. Without full access to Solara, they couldn't stop Bill.

From the entrance to the study, someone knocked lightly on the door frame. “Sounds to me like you need a touch of saving grace.”

All three turned abruptly to the door. Bobby's face lit up in a grin, while the other two stared at the newcomer in disbelief. Ford was the first to speak, stepping forward as if he could hardly belief his eyes.

“... _Press_? Is that really you?”

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so it's been like a year. Sorry about that. I ended up having to skip forward a bit to get past some writer's block, I hope it doesn't get too jarring. I had so many ideas planned that I had to scrap, including the wonderful comedy of Stan Pines making cat puns at an irritated Kasha.  
> Also, shipping! This chapter has shipping, both canon and not so canon. The canon is references to Bobby and Loor's relationship in Rivers of Zadaa. The non-canon is my usual ship of Bobby/Dane, and just a bit of Dane/Bill.

The woods were quiet, save for the birds in the trees and the occasional rustling of small animals. Ford had warned Bobby to be careful of the woods by the edge of town, but it seemed like a peaceful enough area. Certainly no dangerous-looking creatures or hazardous slopes or anything that--

He stopped, turning to look through the foliage to his left. He could have  _ sworn _ he’d seen someone there, for a moment, but they had looked… tiny? Definitely tiny.

Bobby shrugged, continuing on his path. It was probably nothing; Mabel had shouted something about “giant dwarfs forming together to make a gigantic dwarf man,” but even with everything he’d seen, that seemed a tad too ridiculous to be real. Even after seeing shapeshifters, enormous spiked bears, and a humanoid bipedal cat civilization, some of the creatures the twins had spoken of seemed a little more farfetched than he could accept. Like the unicorns and minotaurs that apparently lived deeper into the woods, or the fact that the moment it was mentioned that Dane could shapeshift they seemed convinced he was in actuality a giant larvae of some sort. Either some of these creatures had to be fake, or Gravity Falls was as strange as the rest of the universe combined.

He sighed, lost in his own thoughts as he wandered further out into the woods. They hadn’t even given him anything to do; after his uncle Press had admitted to following Dane all the way from Stonybrook, he offered to help them get the Travelers in order to stop Bill from escaping the town. Then he had abruptly sent Dane, the twins, and Stan to gather up the rest of the Gravity Falls citizens needed for the original circle; immediately after, Press had offered to get the Travelers from their respective territories, and Ford had offered to tag along so they could “catch up and talk”. Bobby had been left to “watch the Shack and keep an eye out for Bill”, which after the first hour or two had translated into “sit around waiting for everyone who knew what was going on to come back.” It had seemed like the other two employees of the Shack, who introduced themselves to him as Wendy and Soos, pretty much had everything covered there, so he had slipped out for a walk to clear his head.

It was getting so hard for him to get anyone to give him a clear explanation of what was going on. It seemed everyone involved knew more about the situation than he did, but had decided that there wasn’t time to sit him down and actually  _ explain _ any of it. So he was left grasping at details, trying to make sense of this world that his uncle and ex-nemesis had been a part of before the war for Halla had begun.

He stumbled, crashing to the ground as his foot hooked on a tree root. Wincing against the pain, he reached out blindly and grabbed the closest object to pull himself to his feet. His fingers touched stone, and he froze.

It felt like… a hand?

Looking up at what he had grabbed, Bobby came face to face with a large statue, half buried in moss and dirt. It was an enormous triangle, with an eye carved into its front. It looked like it was wearing a bow tie, and a top hat.

He thought back to the diagram of the banishing circle, and the sketch he had seen at its center. A triangle, with an eye in its center. And here in front of him, was that exact image, half concealed by moss and leaves. And emitting a light blue glow.

_ Crap. _

 

\------------------

 

It was nearly twilight when the groups began to reconverge at the Mystery Shack. The Travelers arrived first, with Press and Ford filling them in on the situation, followed shortly after by Stan and the twins. Dane shuffled in after them, looking as if at any moment he was going to decide saving the universe wasn’t such a great idea after all. On his chest were several stickers with messages ranging from “cheer up!” and “professional grumpypants” to one which simply had a picture of a baby with its arms crossed.

He glanced around gloomily at the gathered Travelers, who immediately regarded him with suspicion. Even after Press’s insistence that the demon’s powers were almost entirely gone, it was evident that they didn’t trust him. Dane ignored their suspicious looks--and in some cases sharp glares--instead glancing quickly around the room before asking, “Where’s Bobby?”

The others looked around, taking in the crowded room and noting the evident lack of the Lead Traveler among the others. Press frowned. “I told him to stay here.”

Wendy gestured toward the woods. “He said something about going for a walk? Honestly, I figured he’d be back by now.”

“I’m going to look for him.” Both Dane and Loor spoke up in unison, immediately followed by locking gazes in a glaring match.

“Bobby  _ trusts _ me,” Loor stated. “And I’m sure no one here trusts Saint Dane. Who  _ knows _ what that demon would do?”

“Believe it or not,” Dane muttered, “I am capable of being decent. I can find him and bring him back, and if it turns out that he’s found Bill, I could make sure he’s safe.”

The muscular woman rolled her eyes. “And why should we believe you?”

Press stepped between the two, holding his hands up in a placating manner. “Now, now, I’m sure you both would rather not have to work together. But the fact of the matter is that we  _ do _ , and we can’t be fighting within our ranks like this.  _ Both _ of you can go get Bobby, together.”

“But--” They both interjected.

“No buts. We need to get him back here, as soon as possible. We can’t let Bill take over this town.”

Dane crossed his arms. “Fine.”

Press turned to look at Loor, who was still glaring intensely at the ex-demon. “Well, Loor? You can keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn’t try anything.”

She sighed. “Alright. But only so I can make sure he isn’t up to something.”

 

\---------------------

 

Night was beginning to spread across the woods, the last rays of light drifting lazily through the trees. Dane walked ahead, with Loor following a few feet behind, suspicious eyes locked tightly on the former demon. They tramped through the trees in silence, calling out every few minutes for Bobby.

After a few minutes, Dane stopped sharply in his tracks, a deep frown appearing on his features. He shook his head, swearing lightly under his breath.

“What is it?” Loor demanded.

He pointed ahead, to a triangular statue half covered in moss. “I think we’ve found Bill’s hiding place. I can only hope that Bobby didn’t--”

_ “Well, well, didn’t think I’d end up seeing you again, blue-eyes.” _

They both turned sharply, looking into the trees in the direction of the voice. Staring at them from the shadows was a pair of glowing golden eyes, and as the figure stepped into the fading light both the demon and the Traveler inhaled sharply.

“Bobby?” Loor asked. “What’s happening? Why are you--”

“That isn’t Bobby,” Dane interrupted. “Or at least, not Bobby’s mind. Just his body.”

‘Bobby’ was grinning widely, golden eyes locked onto Dane.  _ “And who’s this, blue-eyes? Don’t get me wrong, I always knew you had a thing for muscles, but she doesn’t seem your type, ya know?” _

Loor glared sharply at the possessed man; Dane, after a moment of surprise at the remark, let out a short, humorless laugh. “You haven’t changed, have you, Bill?”

_ “I can’t say the same for you. Didn’t you use to dress with more style?”  _ Bill stepped forward, cocking Bobby’s head at a curious angle and reaching up to run his fingers through Dane’s hair.  _ “Although, I’m liking the dye job. Black is  _ definitely  _ your color.” _

The ex-demon smacked the hand away, a dark look passing over his features. “Stop that.”

Bill pursed his lips, crossing his arms and regarding Dane with a raised eyebrow.  _ “Aw, come on, we used to have so much  _ fun _ together. Just you and me, against everyone else in the universe. Can’t I even flirt a little anymore?” _

“Not with  _ him _ .” the brunette gestured at the Traveler’s borrowed body. 

_ “Are you sure?” _ A mischievous grin spread across his face, and he took a step closer to Dane.  _ “I’ve been in his head, you know. You’d be surprised the stuff he’s got going on in here.” _

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Loor demanded. “What have you done to Bobby?”

Bill directed his attention to her, and the grin stretched further across his borrowed face.  _ “Oh, right, he has a thing for you  _ too _ , doesn’t he? I guess living on different planets made it a bit hard to keep up that long distance relationship, huh?” _

She clenched her fist, taking a step forward while glaring at the possessed man. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He tapped the side of his head with one finger.  _ “I’m in wonder-boy’s mind, remember? I’ve seen his memories. I know  _ exactly _ what I’m talking about. And boy, is it interesting.” _

Dane frowned, looking between the two. “Bill, I wouldn’t if I were you.”

_ “It’s funny, really,”  _ the demon continued, ignoring the warning.  _ “Watching the way you two interacted is one big tease, but then you win and the two of you get sent back to your own planets? All that work and you couldn’t even get your boyfri--” _

His speech was interrupted as Loor swung her fist and punched him in the face, knocking the demon to the ground. He grabbed his cheek, wincing slightly as the grin slipped off of his face.

“I did warn you,” Dane murmured. “Loor has an impressively painful right hook.”

Bill rose back to his feet, still rubbing his cheek lightly.  _ “Right, pain. Humans feel pain.” _ He cracked his neck, brushed off his clothes, and turned to face the two.  _ “This kid’s got a lot of affection in his head, though. It’s like watching a soap opera seeing how easily he gets a crush.” _ He met eyes with Dane, the grin returning to his face.  _ “I’m not the only one who thinks you look good.” _

“Get out of his head, Bill,” Dane said. “Or we’re going to force you out.”

The demon raised an eyebrow.  _ “Oh, really?”  _ he purred.  _ “You always were a fan of being rough, weren’t you?” _

Dane frowned. “I said  _ stop  _ it. That was a long time ago.”

“ _ Of course. You’ve got a new beau now, don’t you?”  _ Bill reached his hand up again and brushed Dane’s hair out of his eyes.  _ “Or you would, if he’d just  _ tell _ you already. I am possessing him, maybe I could just say it for him.” _

The possessed man moved forward quickly and caught Dane in a tight kiss. The ex-demon froze in surprise, before pulling away from the smaller man’s embrace. Bill grinned up at him.

_ “Just like old times, eh, blue-eyes?” _

Dane reached a hand out, brushing a hand against the demon’s neck. He smiled bitterly. “Not quite.”

His hand moved quickly, and a moment later the possessed man fell to the ground, unconscious. Loor ran forward quickly, checking Bobby’s pulse and throwing a suspicious glare toward Dane.

“What did you just do?” she demanded. 

“Nothing fatal,” he replied. Just some pressure points. He’ll be awake in an hour or two, and if we can get back inside the house, without Bill.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the whole thing seems a little rushed, and cuts off abruptly. I've been having so much trouble writing lately


End file.
